Kidapawan folk to give slain DSWD exec a hero’s burial

KIDAPAWAN CITY — City residents will give Joel Maglunob, the slain Region 12 assistant director of the Department of Social Welfare and Development, a hero’s burial today.

"We are so proud of Joel. He had exemplified, even in so short a time, the virtue of honesty and dedication both as a private individual and as a public official," said councilor Gilbert Dalumpines and Maglunob’s long-time friend.

Two suspected hired killers gunned down the 39-year-old Maglunob in front of his house in Cotabato City last March 11.

Residents of Barangay Lanao here, where he hailed from, recalled him as an intelligent, polite and courteous child, an active student leader when he was in high school and as an honest government employee.

Maglunob, whose father died when he was two years old, finished high school here and took up college in Iligan City as a scholar of the Iligan Institute of Technology.

Maglunob, a career executive service eligible with a masteral degree in public administration, was so attached to his birthplace that he had turned down offers by politicians for directorate posts in line agencies outside of Central Mindanao.

"He could have grabbed the opportunities that knocked on his door, but he politely declined all of them because he wanted to serve the community where he came from. This is something many of our young professionals rarely think about now," North Cotabato Gov. Emmanuel Piñol said.

Senior Superintendent Peraco Macacua, Cotabato City police chief, said they now have clues on the identities of the two men who shot Maglunob with caliber .45 automatics.

Political and religious leaders in Central Mindanao earlier called on Malacañang to order the military and police intelligence units to help local investigators identify the mastermind of Maglunob’s murder.

Maglunob assumed the second highest position in the DSWD’s regional office in Cotabato City only late last year. He was known as a hardworking public official and a staunch advocate of transparency in the handling of public funds.

Macacua said he himself knew Maglunob as a respectful and generous man who would not hesitate to give even the last money in his wallet to his needy friends.

"Maglunob’s untimely demise is a big loss to the DSWD. He was a very hardworking man, full of idealism and was very dedicated to his work," Social Welfare and Development Secretary Dinky Soliman told reporters in Cotabato City last week.

Maglunob is survived by his wife, Marivic, a daughter of a retired provincial agriculturist in Sultan Kudarat, and their five-year-old child, Jayvee. — John Unson